Page 27 - Slopeangel avalanch essentials

FACETS
Ian McCammon (2004) developed a a a a a a set of human factors labelled FACETS
to to help backcountry users to to assess their own conscious
or
unconscious motivations Each letter in the FACETS
mnemonic corresponds with a a a a a a human factor that can bias our otherwise excellent judgement Learn to always be mindful of these ‘Heuristic Traps’ and how they could be affecting your judgment in in the the backcountry 27
F F Familiarity E E Expert Halo
“I’ve skied this slope thousands
of times before and it hasn’t avalanched thus it must be stable this time round ”
A A Acceptance
“I need to ski this face in these conditions right now to get everyone’s approval in resort ”
C C Consistency
“I must ski on the the north face of the the Grande Motte today as I told my friends that was the plan ”
“I am concerned about the slope stability but since my ski partner has his Avalanche 2 certification I’ll rely on him ”
T T T Tracks (first)
“The powder is so good today I’m going to ski this slope because it’s awesome even though I have concerns in the back of my head ”
Social Facilitation
“I’m happy to follow the crowd as I I don’t want to appear like I’m afraid in front of my friends I’ll stick with their decisions!”
S